


Love is Blind

by smudgywords



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F, Mythology - Freeform, Short Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-01-10 18:44:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18413711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smudgywords/pseuds/smudgywords
Summary: Nobody dared to seek out Medusa, the lethal gorgon. None except one, even if it was by accident.  In short, a blind woman falls for Medusa.





	Love is Blind

**Author's Note:**

> i forgot macbeth wasn't written until shakespeares time so lets just ignore how out of date the name ophelia is.

Ophelia had been lost for what seemed like days, although she knew it not so. She heard the crashing of water nearby, so there had to have been a water source close by. She reached out, feeling the prickly bushes and floral buds as she stumbled by. Her village thought she was mad, travelling while devoid of sight. Ophelia guesses that they were right in their thinking, but she was determined to prove them wrong. Everyone in that village either coddled her or thought her no good at all, and she was sick of it. She was going to make it out there, all by herself, and find her way back just fine.

The blonde haired girl stopped for a second, listening intently for the familiar ripple of the freshwater. She felt in her bag for her canteen, ready to fill it. As she walked closer to the bank, birds chirped and bugs hummed in the air, sweet from flowers that were just blooming. 

Despite what she thought, she was far from where she wanted to be. Ophelia had wanted to make it from her small village in the Plaka quarter to Attica, the slightly bigger city in the northwest. She was actually closer to Corinth, getting dangerously close to tribal states where they would kill her on sight. 

She sat in the dewy grass near the sandy bank of the lake. She was just filling her canteen when she heard some rustling in the bushes to her left. She might have been blind, but she most certainly wasn't deaf. She whipped around, the decision more based on instinct than anything else. 

In front of her hid a woman behind the trees and flowering bushes. Ophelia had no idea, of course. 

The woman held her breath and stilled behind the birch tree that was separating the two women. 

That woman was Medusa, her hair hissing and writhing. Everyone knew the tale of Medusa. A once beautiful maiden in Athens cursed by her own Goddess, then slain by Perseus. Nobody knew that she was still alive. Medusa was just in waiting, cursing the Olympians for what they had done to her. She had gone into hiding, inhabiting a beautiful little cave near a pond filled with lily pads and rose petals from the bushes. She stuck out among the beauty, her hideousness distracting anyone from sickly sweet nature. At least, that was what she thought.

Now there was a girl.

A girl with lovely blonde ringlets in her hair and blushed cheeks from the weather. She seemed to see right through Medusa, or rather, she couldn't see her. 

The maiden couldn't see anything, nothing at all, Medusa later discovered.

Ophelia went back to retrieving her water after the long silence, blaming the rustling on nothing more than an animal of some sort. She wasn't wrong, Medusa was an animal. A horrific beast that murdered men in cold blood. 

Medusa had never sought to kill for joy, only for protection. Men came left and right to retrieve her head for the glory of Athena. Medusa had gotten considerably good at war, something she could never be proud of. Medusa never blamed these men, they were all fed lies from the priestesses and priests. Men in Greece wanted nothing more than blood and glory, something that the priestesses took advantage of.

She remembered her first attack. Some soldier from Athens coming with a bow and arrow and a shield to slay her. Medusa fought poorly, but her eyes set him to stone quickly, reducing him to nothing but a statue. 

Medusa relaxed her stance as she saw the girl eat some food out of her bag. She wanted nothing more than to go say hello, but she was terrified of the consequences. She had no idea this maiden couldn't see her physically, only judge her on personality. Her snakes were calm now, some choosing to snooze on her head. She didn't want to startle the golden-haired girl with the hissing of her reptiles.

Ophelia hummed a simple song from Athens. Medusa vaguely remembered singing it too at some point of her life before the incident. Medusa couldn't help herself but to sing the lyrics softly to herself, the melody slipping out of her lips like honey dripping from it's comb. Medusa hadn't sung in so long, her throat raspy and scratchy to begin with. As she got a hold of it, the dryness of her throat melted.

"Who's there?" Ophelia held a small dagger in her hand, she didn't even bother turning. 

Medusa stopped abruptly, fear coursing through her veins. She didn't want her to leave, to run, to scream in Medusa's face that the gorgon was an ugly beast.

"I-," Medusa stared. She hadn't had honest social interaction in so long. "I am." 

"And who are you, exactly?" Ophelia snorted.

"I'm Med-" Medusa paused. She quickly corrected herself.

"Medina." 

"Medina? That's quite an unusual name. My name is rather unusual too, I suppose. My name is Ophelia." The blonde woman, now known as Ophelia, giggled. 

"That's a lovely name. What are you doing here, anyway?" Medusa felt more comfortable to come closer to Ophelia, breaking their birch tree barrier. 

"I'm adventuring. Going to Attica, how about you?" Ophelia sat back down, subtly moving some of her rations close to Medusa to share. Medusa happily took a slice of bread loaf. 

"Uh, I am just out adventuring too. I am going to....my house." Medusa lied.

"Where is your house? If you wouldn't mind, maybe I'll accompany you there? I'm sure my village could last a few days without me, being sightless and all." Ophelia brushed some of her hair back, letting the humid air hit her ears.

"You're blind?' Medusa walked in front of Ophelia, waving her hand slightly in front of her face. That explained it. Ophelia couldn't see Medusa's appearance. This might be the chance she had been waiting for. Silently, however, she cursed the gods. She cursed them for modelling Ophelia after Aphrodite herself, then stealing her sight so she could never see what everyone else did. 

"Yes. I have been since I was a baby. I'm not sure what exactly happened," Ophelia shyly laughed. "So, Medina, where do you live?" 

"Oh. I live near...where we are now. I live away from the city-states. Much quieter here." Medusa made up a lie on the spot. It wasn't actually a complete lie, Medusa did live near here, and it was quieter here than in the city-states.

"Must be lovely." She smiled, twirling her hair as she imagined it. A quaint little concrete home with a garden and some cattle. It seemed almost like a fantasy, something out of an old fairy tale in a big dusty book sitting on a toymaker's shelf.

"It really is." Medusa grinned back, she took a small bite of her bread, it tasting better than anything she had consumed in the last month. She very rarely got fresh food anymore. 

"I would very much like to come with you. If you don't mind, of course." Ophelia's tone was overflowing with sweetness, much like the fruit that Mt. Olympus bore. Her ghostly eyes seemed to shimmer behind their veil of clouds. 

"And I would love that." Medusa stared at her dreamily, orchids and daffodils and cliff roses blooming for the first time ever in her heart and taking root. They spread, coming to her mind and growing wildly. Ophelia was the drip of water needed to help them grow up into everything they could be.

"Great! Shall we begin?" Ophelia clapped her hands together excitedly, a larger-than-life grin filling her face. 

Medusa began to collect her belongings and dust herself off, but Ophelia stayed on the ground.

"I-I'm sorry, could you help me? It's hard for me to keep my balance when I stand up." Ophelia murmured uncomfortably.

Medusa reached out and took Ophelia's hand, helping her to her feet.

"Of course." Medusa hummed.

"Thank you, Medina. I'm sure this adventure will be very fun with you by my side. To tell you the truth, travelling by myself was quite boring." Ophelia dusted the grass off her robes. She hadn't let go of Medusa's hand yet, instead clasping it softly by her side.

Medusa's heart burned at the simple gesture, wondering what she did to become so lucky all of a sudden.

The flowers in her heart grew stronger and more vibrant.

* * *

 

Ophelia swung their hands as they walked, giggling into the sunshine that reflected off her cheek. Her hair was a lovely metallic in the warm sun, it looked like the expensive golden thread that wealthy women wore. Medusa felt herself falling in love more every second, though she knew nothing would ever happen.

A bird sang in the distance, causing Ophelia to stop in her tracks and listen carefully. 

After it's glorious melody subsided, Ophelia's voice was edged with childhood excitement as she spoke. "That's a subalpine warbler. Cute little puffy things, from what I've heard. They mate for life." 

"Wow, how do you know so much about birds?" Medusa looked down towards the girl, surprised at her knowledge.

"Well, when I was a child I wanted to know what all the pretty songs were from outside. My mother taught me everything." Ophelia's tone seemed to take on a hint of sadness as she dropped her shoulders.

"Oh." Medusa decided to shy away from the topic, choosing rather to hum the bird's song sweetly to the girl. 

Ophelia leaned into Medusa as they walked, bumping shoulders playfully. 

Later that day, they finally arrived at Medusa's home. A modest cabin made of wood with a small garden next to it, a creek rushing nearby. Medusa sighed happily, "Home sweet home." 

"I love it." Ophelia's eyes sparkled as she breathed in the clean forest air. Suddenly, her nose wrinkled in disgust. "Ah, it smells like it's going to rain."

"Oh?" Medusa sounded sad, but she was secretly happy. This meant that Ophelia would stay overnight. 

"Would you mind if I stayed over night? I don't want to be too much of a burden." Ophelia chuckled nervously, the hope showing clearly on her face.

"Of course, I'd love that." Medusa grinned and led her inside, a fire still burning with incense, uplifting the room's atmosphere.

As the evening went on, they managed to talk about a lot, but about almost nothing. Talking about gladiators they liked from the Colosseum, recent increase on tax on thread, gossip from around town. Medusa bluffed her way through it, letting Ophelia talk her way through any topic Medusa didn't know. 

Rain finally set in, dancing across the rooftops and providing a comforting ambiance for their chat. Medusa eventually lit some candles as the night got more apparent.

Around midnight, Ophelia yawned, expressing her grogginess. 

"You can sleep on my bed, if you'd like. I'll sleep on the couch." Medusa offered, wringing her hands nervously. 

"No, no, I like couches." Ophelia hummed, a playful smile on her features. She got onto the couch, laying a small wool blanket over her. The air wasn't bitterly cold, but it had a small chill. "Goodnight, Medina. See you in the morning." 

"Goodnight, Ophelia." Medusa smiled, beginning to walk up the stairs to her room. It was an attic room, some hay falling in from the roof. Making repairs was incredibly hard, since she couldn't just walk into the next town and order wood. She was forced to resort to her own tactics. 

Tumbling into her animal fur bed, she felt the softness of the sheep skin around her. Inside, her heart sang for Ophelia. Medusa was afraid to admit it, but she was beginning to like this girl. 

* * *

 

Medusa awoke to the burnt smell of overcooked bacon and eggs drifting through the house. She stumbled out of bed, hearing the hard wood creak under her feet. Stretching herself out, she thumped down the stairs. She was pleasantly surprised to find Ophelia, trying and failing to cook breakfast. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
